When the Window Closes

I was never my mom's favorite child. It was always her and my sister. When I was old enough to be on my own, I left without looking back. I made my own way in the world, had a family and built a beautiful life. But a trip to the emergency room in 2013 changed everything. My mom had dementia, and I was tasked with taking care of her, all by myself. I learned everything I could about grief in an effort to prepare for her to die. I had to face my own resentments, fears, and anger as I accepted my caregiver role so I could love my mom while she was alive and dying. Even at the end, when I was just a nice lady to came to visit her, I was ready, no matter how many years she had left. I knew I'd be by her side and hold her hand as she left this earth. But nothing I did prepared me for what actually happened. All my best-laid plans crumbled around me as I had to use everything I'd learned to make it through the worst thing I could never have imagined. When the Window Closes is a profoundly personal and emotional narrative centered around the author's six-year journey as a caregiver for her mother, who had Alzheimer's disease. The book weaves back and forth between past events and the present caregiving moments, illustrating her complicated and trying relationship with her mother and how the burden of caregiving evolved into a great gift of unconditional love and acceptance. Throughout the memoir, the author explores the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, family responsibilities, caregiving in the face of adversity, navigating the confusing healthcare system, and grappling with feelings of grief, loss, fear, resentment, and finding peace in letting go.